I'm thinking of buying that knife I've been looking for from the US. I keep getting mixed advice on whether they get snatched by Customs coming in. Anyone got any first hand experience?
Has anyone ever had problems buying knives from the US?
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I ordered a folding bushman from the US, posted by supplier and then nothing else heard! Over a year ago now so I'm not expecting it any time soon/ever. I have had several deliveries since form a variety of suppliers/makers and they've gone well but do take a while to clear HMRC.
So long as it's UK legal you'll be fine.
Some one-hand openers have been snatched as they have been considered to be gravity knives - if it is a locking folder make sure the supplier is happy to tighten up the pivot nut as tight as possible to avoid this problem.
As for fixed blades - any knife will be fine so long as it's not a Katana!
Don't forget you'll need to pay import duty / VAT on the knife if it's worth over £18.00. Make sure you take this into consideration.
Some one-hand openers have been snatched as they have been considered to be gravity knives - if it is a locking folder make sure the supplier is happy to tighten up the pivot nut as tight as possible to avoid this problem.
As for fixed blades - any knife will be fine so long as it's not a Katana!
Don't forget you'll need to pay import duty / VAT on the knife if it's worth over £18.00. Make sure you take this into consideration.
If you pop over to British Blades you can find many occurrences of people having this issue and asking for advice on how to contest the seizure.
This only happens for locking, one handed opening folding knives.
This only happens for locking, one handed opening folding knives.
So long as it's UK legal you'll be fine.
As for fixed blades - any knife will be fine so long as it's not a Katana!
My full 'live' competition Katana was delivered from USA without any problems at all.....Just make sure it is fully declared by the sender an' ye pays the import dutys. As wi' most things....ifin ye trys t' sneak it under the radar...it'll Get 'binned' by the boys in hi-vis.
Aye. I've had differing views on different forums. This is what Blade forums in the US advised - although again I got a mixture of views.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=707708
I'm not a knife expert and I don't want to get it wrong. I've already bought one in this country and I've got my eye on another by a US maker. Its a fixed blade/8.5 inches long.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=707708
I'm not a knife expert and I don't want to get it wrong. I've already bought one in this country and I've got my eye on another by a US maker. Its a fixed blade/8.5 inches long.
I had a Skookum Bush Tool sent over last year with no problems (other than the 18 month to 2 year waiting list!). Yes, you will get bummed over for both customs excise duty, VAT and a charge of about 8 quid from Parcel Force, but, other than that ...
Someone suggested I get them to mark the value down and sat its a camping tool then I'll avoid the VAT and the £8 charge?
Yes, that's a possibility but it's fraud so you could, in theory, get told off quite badly for it. The second issue is if it goes missing in the post and you need to claim the value back, you won't be able to claim the full amount back (or maybe not even any!)
Hmmm.
Aside from the obvious fraud you will also find yourself stuffed if the item is lost / damaged in transit as the postal insurance will only cover the declared value of an item.
Honestly, for fixed blades theres no problem - having imported over 25,000 of them I guess I know!
Wow! That's a lot of knives! It was just I've had very mixed information. On British Blades a lot of people said just about any knives get snatched and then other people have said it doesn't happen at all? What about pocket knives?
Rob
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The only problem that i have ever had was when we shipped a load of jungle kit back to the UK. Due to some problems with the Guyanan Post Office, all of the bags got re-packed.
I had a nice phone call from the police at Gatwick, who had been handed 5 bags of kit with questionable contents. He was concerned about some of the military looking kit and sharps. A quick chat with a very helpful boy in blue and all was fine.
As long as it is not an obscene or specifically outlawed blade and you are able to justify why you have it, all should be fine. It is worth using a more premium shipping service though, as then it shouldn't go missing at either end.
I had a nice phone call from the police at Gatwick, who had been handed 5 bags of kit with questionable contents. He was concerned about some of the military looking kit and sharps. A quick chat with a very helpful boy in blue and all was fine.
As long as it is not an obscene or specifically outlawed blade and you are able to justify why you have it, all should be fine. It is worth using a more premium shipping service though, as then it shouldn't go missing at either end.
With care you can work around the restrictions.
As to HMRC.
Fixed blades are no problem.
You will generally only have a problem with a folding knife.
If you want Benchmade, forget it. The Axis Lock is just too easy to flick open.
As to HMRC.
Fixed blades are no problem.
You will generally only have a problem with a folding knife.
If you want Benchmade, forget it. The Axis Lock is just too easy to flick open.
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